The Influence of the Classical World on the American Founding
The classical world was just as present in the American founding as it was during the height of the Roman Forum. The ideals of the Roman Republic remained at the center of the American Revolution, igniting like fire in the hearts of the patriots through mythology. Among many legends is the story of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, an ancient Roman who served the Republic with humility and honor. Cincinnatus stood as a renowned name on and off the battlefield in the great American war for freedom, primarily through the duty of George Washington.
Colonists in eighteenth-century America prided themselves on their classical education. The majority of the colonies identified as Protestants. Because Protestants emphasized reading scripture in the vernacular, parents and schoolmasters advocated for each child's literacy for the purpose of reading scripture and newspapers. In addition, schoolmasters and colleges expected students to read proficiently in classical Latin and Greek. This environment created a literate society with high publication rates and a shared reverence for ancient Roman and Greek stories.
However, unlike most colonial aristocrats, Washington lacked a strictly classical education. He spent more time pursuing the practical lessons of mathematics, military strategy, agriculture, and surveying than analyzing ancient literature, but he retained proficiency in both. Nevertheless, Washington pursued the ancient Roman virtue of duty as a citizen and a politician.
Washington as the American Cincinnatus
Washington embodied the soul of Cincinnatus three times during his life. First, he was a military man, serving for several years in the British provincial militia, followed by eight years in the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783. Second, in 1787, his peers unanimously voted for him to hold the presidency of the Constitutional Convention. Most notably, Washington served eight more years as the first president of the United States of America from 1789 to 1797. Through these years of service, Washington portrayed what it meant for a man to live his life as an American by embodying the ancient Roman and republican virtue of duty.
The Roman Republic's virtue of duty lived in the character of Washington. Historian Titus Livy records the legend of Cincinnatus, who gained fame for his bravery and quick action in leaving his home as a farmer to defend the Republic against the warring Aequians near Mount Algidus. The Roman people elected him as their temporary dictator in their time of struggle, and out of piety to the gods and love for the common good, he did as they asked. After achieving victory, he accepted a temporary role as consul with the intention of restoring the Republic to its former operation. After his consulship ended, Cincinnatus returned to his family and farm, trading in his sword for the plow and rejecting the opportunity to stay in power any longer. Just as Cincinnatus left his farm to take up arms to defend his country, so too did Washington.
In 1754, at age twenty-one, Washington served as a Virginia Colonial Militia officer, fighting on behalf of the British against the French to preserve the Ohio frontier. Unknowingly, Washington killed two French diplomats, spinning the colonies and Europe into a worldwide war for seven winters. He served for the duration of the war before stepping down and returning to his farm in Mount Vernon.
After the Constitutional Congress settled and successfully drafted a model of the American Constitution, Washington again took up his musket in defense of his home. In 1775, George Washington assumed the role of Commander in Chief of the Continental Army in the American Revolution, leading out of duty for his men and country for eight years. Washington served like a Roman soldier. In battle, he understood how to advance and when to retreat. Because of this, he marked his victories by strategic retreat—both in battle and from power in times of peace.
Finally, after two seasons of military leadership, Washington announced his resignation from the Continental Army on December 23, 1783. This signified the end of his tenure as Commander in Chief and his desire to retreat back to his Mount Vernon estate to live with his family and farm as a private citizen.
Washington’s Legacy of Service and Humility
At his core, Washington was a farmer. His name derives from the Latin vocabulary agricola—“farmer;” he believed that God created man to work according to the liturgy of nature by farming with the seasons. In a letter to British agricultural author Arthur Young, Washington says that he finds “amusement in agriculture” because it presents a world of possibility.
Supporting Washington’s return home, Founding Father John Adams advocated for a multidimensional citizen like the ancient Roman Cincinnatus. In 1785, in a letter to John Jebb, Adams writes, “It is a wise maxim that every free man ought to have some profession, calling, trade, or farm, whereby he may honestly subsist…” The founders found refuge in Cincinnatus’ fable of returning to his farm after completing his political work.
In 1783, when the dust settled from the battlefields of the American Revolution, Washington appealed to the legend of Cincinnatus to form an intellectual organization for the leading officers of the Continental Army. He patterned his conduct in war and politics after Cincinnatus, adopting the ancient Roman’s name for his organization and calling it the Society of the Cincinnati.
The neoclassical image of Washington as America’s Cincinnatus is further reinforced by Horatio Greenough’s 12-ton marble statue of the first president, prominently displayed at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. This grand monument, executed in the neoclassical style, portrays Washington in the fashion of ancient Greek statuary, reminiscent of Phidias’ lost Olympian Zeus. Just as Cincinnatus set aside his sword to return to his farm, Greenough’s depiction of Washington, with an outstretched hand offering his sword, symbolizes his voluntary relinquishment of power. This powerful artistic representation solidifies Washington’s legacy as a leader who, like his Roman predecessor, chose civic duty over personal ambition.
Washington continued his call to service as he grayed. He accepted the first office of President of the United States in 1789, leading for two terms. He rejected his soldiers' offer of dictatorship and finally returned home to Mount Vernon at the autumn age of sixty-five, where he pursued his family and farm. Like Cincinnatus, Washington was an indispensable man whose leadership stood central to history.
Just as Cincinnatus set down his sword after he accomplished peace, so too did Washington set down his musket, and both exchanged the power of public office for their plow.
-Written by Lauren Hearne